Systems and methods for performing actions on network-connected objects in response to reminders on devices based on an action criterion

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for performing actions on network-connected objects in response to reminders on devices. An input from a first user device is received wherein keywords of the input correspond to an action identifier corresponding to an action. The system determines a plurality of network-connected devices capable of performing the action. A comparison is executed for each of the plurality of network-connected devices which identifies a device identifier from the words of the input determining a target device for performing the action. The system determines a plurality of criteria identifiers for performing the action on the target device. A comparison is executed for each of the criteria identifiers which identifies an action criterion from the words of the input. A command is transmitted, from the user device, for the action to be executed on the target device according to the action criterion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/021,713, filed on Jun. 28, 2018. The disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

There are a myriad of electronic devices which allow for users to settimed reminders. Setting reminders on electronic devices allow the userto rely on the electronic device to notify the user of the particularpre-programmed reminder. Current reminder systems on electronic devicesfunction only on the particular electronic devices from which thereminder is set. These electronic devices generally rely upon the laborof the user to set the reminder manually. If the user wishes to havemultiple devices perform various functions, this necessitates the userto manually configure each electronic device independently andseparately. Furthermore, implementation of “smart” devices (i.e.,devices integrated with processors and able to perform simple computerfunctions) is now ubiquitous; however, despite this, users are unable tocoordinate reminders on these devices.

SUMMARY

To provide a singular interface to coordinate distinct smart devices toset “smart” reminders, methods and systems are disclosed herein forperforming actions on network-connected objects in response to reminderson devices. For example, conventional systems have no ability to set“smart” reminders because conventional system have no way ofinterpreting commands issued by a user that may include: (i) commandsunique to a particular device, (ii) actions that may vary based on theparticular device, and (iii) criteria that may differ based on both thedevice and criteria. For example, based on a user command, “No SpongeBob after 7,” conventional systems have no way to interpret that commandto issue the necessary instructions (e.g., turning off or instructing aparental block) to the necessary device (e.g., the television, computer,tablet, etc.) in order to meet the expectations (e.g., at 7 PM) of theuser.

To overcome the technical limitations of conventional systems, the mediaguidance application described herein utilizes recent advances in smartdevice use and Internet of Things (“IoT”) applications to process userinputs. Building on these recent advances, the methods and systems ofthe media guidance application process information according to specificrules in order to provide “smart” reminders. These specific rules allowfor computer functionality that could previously only be performedmanually (i.e., set reminders on different devices) by a user as well ascomputer functionality that was previously not possible (e.g., parsingan input to coordinate a plurality of other electronic devices toexecute actions according to specific criteria associated with areminder. Accordingly, the media guidance application described hereinprovides a singular interface to coordinate distinct smart devices toset smart reminders by parsing a user command to determine a targetdevice, a particular action to be performed on the target device, andaction criterion determining the command for the particular action.

One example of an application performing actions on network-connectedobjects in response to reminders, is in the context of creatingreminders on a media guidance application implemented by user equipmentwhich operates media content. For example, a user may wish to implementa reminder on a number of electronic devices in order to have holisticcoverage of the reminder on multiple devices. This entails that the usermust configure each electronic device with the same reminder, resultingin excessive labor on the part of the user to configure each electronicdevice. Moreover, this also provides auxiliary concerns by attempts tosynchronize each electronic device in order to have the reminder appearat the same or similar times. Application of the Internet of Things(“IoT”) technology allows for multiple electronic devices to communicatewith each other to better coordinate.

Continuing with the above example, the user may wish to have thereminder displayed to a number of other users in the household whichpresents another problem. It may be desirable to provide the reminder toonly a select group of users within the household, and thus a permissionbased system need also be implemented to provide reminders for onlyusers permitted to receive the reminder and/or provide specialfunctionality based on these permissions.

Accordingly, to overcome the problems created when multiple users withcorresponding network-connected devices are not connected by apermission based network, systems and methods are described herein forperforming actions on network-connected objects in response to reminderson devices based on an action criterion. Furthermore, as opposed toconventional methods of implementing reminders on an electronic device,the systems and methods use a single input to parse whichnetwork-connected devices are implemented, and determine a specificaction criterion for the action to be executed. Specifically, the mediaguidance application may receive an input from a first user device. Themedia guidance application may parse, at the first user device, words ofthe input to identify a first keyword. The first keyword may correspondto an action identifier for one of a plurality of network actions. Themedia guidance application may determine, at the first user device, anaction corresponding to the action identifier. The media guidanceapplication may determine, at the first user device, a plurality ofnetwork-connected devices capable of performing the action. The mediaguidance application may determine a plurality of device identifiers foreach of the plurality of network-connected devices. The media guidanceapplication may execute a first comparison of each of the plurality ofdevice identifiers for each of the plurality of network-connecteddevices to the words of the input to identify a second keyword. Thesecond keyword may correspond to one of the plurality of deviceidentifiers for one of the plurality of network-connected devices. Themedia guidance application may determine, based on the second keyword, atarget device, from the plurality of network-connected devices. Thetarget device may perform the action. The media guidance application maydetermine a plurality of criteria identifiers for performing the actionon the target device. The media guidance application may execute asecond comparison of each of the plurality of criteria identifiers forperforming the action on the target device to the words of the input toidentify a third keyword. The third keyword may correspond to an actioncriterion performing the action on the target device. The media guidanceapplication may determine a command for executing the action on thetarget device according to the action criterion. The media guidanceapplication may transmit the command, from the first user device, to thetarget device.

Accordingly, a plurality of network-connected objects may be configuredby the media guidance application to execute a reminder through a singleinput in a user device. The techniques described does not require laborintense configuration on the part of the user to configure each andevery device of the plurality of network-connected objects manually;instead, the media guidance application receives and parses the userinput to determine the specific set of network-connected objectsrequired to execute the reminder. By determining a target device, thenumber of possible actions in totality is greatly reduced to only thoseactions possible by the target device. This allows for more expedientuse of processor resources to determine the specific action to beexecuted by the target device. Therefore, once the target device isfound, the third keyword (e.g., action criterion) has device specificcontext in allowing for expedient processing of the actions onnetwork-connected objects in response to reminders on devices.

As an example, a father in a household may be watching a movie on hisnetwork enabled television while his two sons are also watching the samemovie being displayed on their own respective electronic devices (e.g.,network connected tablets). The household has a local network whichfacilitates multiple network-connected devices. The father may wish toset a reminder to leave to go to grandma's house for dinner. The fatheruses his own user device, a smartphone, to initiate a voice inputstating that “set reminder for everyone to leave for grandma's house in25 minutes.” The father has preconfigured the media guidance applicationto state that his account is that of administrator, while his sons'accounts are non-administrator. The configuration is such that upon thereminder for non-administrators, and upon the reminder implementing oncompletion, the non-administrator devices are non-responsive and cannotbe overridden within administrative permission. Therefore, upon thefather's smartphone receiving the initial voice input, the voice inputis parsed to identify a first keyword corresponding to an actionidentifier. In the current example, the action is “leave” from the voiceinput. The media guidance application may then determine an actioncorresponding to the action identifier “leave”. For example, here themedia guidance application may access a database look-up table whichmaps “leave” to the action “exit media program and turn off device”. Themedia guidance application then determines the plurality of networkdevices capable of performing the action. Here, the media guidanceapplication may determine all devices, and device identifiers, known tothe local network capable of performing the “exit media program and turnoff device.” The media guidance application may then compare each of thedevice identifiers with a second keyword “everyone” from the voiceinput. The media guidance application may determine, through the deviceidentifiers, that the television and two tablets are currently playingthe media content, and each of them is capable of the action of “exitmedia program and turn off device” and identifies these as the targetdevices to perform the action. The media guidance application may thendetermine all of the criteria identifiers for performing the action onthe target device (e.g., all possible criteria identifiers for theaction associated with shutting off the device is determined for thetablets and television devices). Each of these criteria identifiers iscompared with the initial input which matches a third keyword parsedfrom the voice input, namely “in 25 minutes.” The media guidanceapplication may determine that the action of “exit media program andturn off device” will be responsive to the action criterion of a timerof 25 minutes from initiation of this instruction. The media guidanceapplication may determine the corresponding command for each of thetelevision and two tablet devices and transmits the commandsrespectively. As the father watches the media on the television, and thesons are watching on their respective tablets, upon the 25 minutesexpiration, the movie will close and each device will power off. Perhapsin some embodiments, a notification stating that “Reminder! Event atGrandma's House!” may be displayed for each user. Because the father hasadministrative control, he may be able to disable or override the actionbeing performed on one or more target devices upon a further input. Thisis in contrast to the electronic devices of his sons' in this example,as none of the sons have administrative control.

The media guidance application may perform the following actions toenable performing actions on network-connected objects in response toreminders on devices. The media guidance application may receive, from auser, an input from a first user device. For example, the media guidanceapplication may receive a voice input from a user (e.g., a father)smartphone stating that “set reminder for everyone to leave forgrandma's house in 25 minutes.” By receiving the input from a first userdevice, the media guidance application may be able to perform furtheranalysis to coordinate network-connected objects based on this input.

The media guidance application may parse, at the first user device,words of the input. The parsing may identify a first keywordcorresponding to an action identifier for one of a plurality of networkactions. Continuing from the previous example, upon the father'ssmartphone receiving the initial voice input, the voice input is parsedto identify a first keyword corresponding to an action identifier. Inthe current example, the action is “leave” from the voice input. Bydetermining a keyword from the parsed input, further matching analysismay be conducted in order to send commands to a network-connecteddevice.

The media guidance application may determine, at the first user device,an action corresponding to the action identifier. Continuing from theprevious example, the media guidance application may determine an actioncorresponding to the action identifier “leave.” Here the media guidanceapplication may access a database look-up table which maps “leave” tothe action “exit media program and turn off device”. By determining anaction corresponding to the action identifier, the media guidanceapplication may determine which devices may be applicable to carry outthe specific action and can coordinate a network-connected device toperform the action.

The media guidance application may determine, at the first user device,a plurality of network-connected devices capable of performing theaction. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may determine all devices known to the local network capableof performing the “exit media program and turn off device.”. Bydetermining the relevant devices which can perform the action, the mediaguidance application is able to determine a set of devices from which itis possible to assign a command to carry out the function.

The media guidance application may determine a plurality of deviceidentifiers for each of the plurality of network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, the media guidance application maydetermine all device identifiers by, for example, requesting the networkidentifiers of each of the devices connected to the network. By beingable to identify the network devices, the media guidance application hasthe means to identify the relevant devices in order to send commands forperforming the action.

The media guidance application may execute a first comparison of each ofthe device identifiers for each of the network-connected devices, to thewords of the input to identify a second keyword. The second keywordcorresponds to one of the plurality of device identifiers for one of theplurality of network-connected devices. Continuing from the previousexample, the media guidance application may then compare each of thedevice identifiers with a second keyword “everyone” from the voiceinput. The media guidance application may interpret “everyone” toinclude all detected network-connected devices. By determining devicesby parsing a second keyword from the input, the media guidanceapplication is able to direct a command to a set device to perform theaction.

The media guidance application may determine, based on the secondkeyword, a target device, from the plurality of network-connecteddevices, for performing the action. Continuing from the previousexample, the media guidance application may determine, through thedevice identifiers, that the television and two tablets are currentlyplaying the media content, and each of them are capable of the action of“exit media program and turn off device.” Thus, the media guidanceapplication identifies these devices as the target devices to performthe action. By identifying one or more target devices, the mediaguidance application is able to direct a command to a set device toperform the action. By determining a target device, the number ofpossible actions in totality is greatly reduced to only those actionspossible by the target device. This allows for more expedient use ofprocessor resources to determine the specific action to be executed bythe target device. Moreover, the determination of the action criterionis further narrowed and made for efficiency by this technique ofdetermining action, followed by device, and followed by examinercriterion.

The media guidance application may determine a plurality of criteriaidentifiers for performing the action on the target device. Continuingfrom the previous example, the media guidance application may thendetermine all of the criteria identifiers for performing the action onthe target device (e.g., all possible criteria identifiers for theaction associated with shutting off the device is determined for thetablets and television devices). By identifying all criteria identifiersof the target devices, a higher level of configuration may be applied toensure a more accurate command for performing the action.

The media guidance application may execute a second comparison of eachof the plurality of criteria identifiers for performing the action onthe target device to the words of the input to identify a third keyword.The third keyword corresponds to an action criterion performing theaction on the target device. Continuing from the previous example, eachof the previously determined criteria identifiers are compared with theinitial input which matches a third keyword parsed from the voice input,namely “in 25 minutes.” By identifying an action criterion of the targetdevices, a higher level of configuration may be applied to ensure a moreaccurate command for performing the action.

The media guidance application may determine a command for executing theaction on the target device according to the action criterion.Continuing from the previous example, the media guidance application maydetermine that the action of “exit media program and turn off device”will be responsive to the action criterion of a timer of 25 minutes frominitiation of this instruction. By using the action criterion, a devicespecific command may be implemented on a target device which isnetwork-connected in order to perform the action.

The media guidance application may transmit the command, from the firstuser device, to the target device. Continuing from the previous example,the media guidance application may determine the corresponding commandfor each of the television and two tablet devices and transmits thecommands respectively. As the father watches the media on thetelevision, and the sons are watching on their respective tablets, uponthe 25 minutes expiration, the movie will close and each device willpower off. By sending the commands to the target devices, each of thenetwork-operated devices are able to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actionidentifier into a database listing actions corresponding to actionidentifiers. Continuing from the previous example, the action identifieris “leave” from the voice input. This is input into a database whichcontains various actions and having corresponding action identifiers. Byhaving a correspondence between a parsed term (e.g., action identifier)and the action itself, the media guidance application can translate avoice command to a device specific action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing actions corresponding to action identifiers based onthe action identifier to identify the action. Continuing from theprevious example, the database results will filter all results toresults in relation to “leave” such as “shut-down”, “pause”, “blankscreen”, “transfer screen to secondary device” (e.g., mobile device). Byfiltering the different device based functions, the media guidanceapplication may translate a voice command to a device specific action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine if anyof the filtered actions listed in the database correspond to the actionidentifier input. If yes, the media guidance application outputs theaction. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve “leave” with the action “exit media program andturn off device.” The media guidance application then outputs theaction. By outputting the determined action, the media guidanceapplication may translate a voice command to a device specific action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actioninto a database which lists network-connected devices capable ofperforming actions. Continuing from the previous example, upondetermining the action “exit media program and turn off device”, themedia guidance application may input this action into a database whichlists the number of network-connected devices which are capable ofperforming this action. For example, the database may list thetelevision and two tablets are capable devices. By having a databasedetermine the specific devices capable of performing the action, themedia guidance application can accurately determine the correctnetwork-operating device to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing network-connected devices capable of performing actionsbased on the action to identify the plurality of network-connecteddevices capable of performing the action. Continuing from the previousexample, the database results will filter all results to only thosedevices which can perform the action. Here, both the tablets and thetelevision can perform the “exit media program and turn off device”action. By filtering the different device based functions, the mediaguidance application may translate a voice command to a device specificaction.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output theplurality of network-connected devices capable of performing the action.Continuing from the previous example, the media guidance application mayoutput the tablets and the television as devices capable of performingthe action of “exit media program and turn off device.” By outputtingthe capable devices action, the media guidance application is able toidentify the correct devices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input each ofthe plurality of network-connected devices into a database listingdevice identifiers corresponding to network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, upon determining that thetelevision and two tablets are capable devices, the database lists thedevice identifiers for specific network-connected devices (e.g., bynetwork device identification). By having a device identification, themedia guidance application can accurately determine the correctnetwork-operating device to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing device identifiers corresponding to network-connecteddevices based on each of the plurality of network-connected devices toidentify the plurality of device identifiers for each of the pluralityof network-connected devices. Continuing from the previous example, thedatabase results will filter all the device identifiers to only thosedevices which are connected to the network. Here, both the tablets andthe television are connected to the home network and thus will be listedas “filtered” results. By filtering the device identifiers, the mediaguidance application can more accurately determine the target devices toperform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output theplurality of device identifiers for each of the plurality ofnetwork-connected devices. Continuing from the previous example, themedia guidance application may output the device identifiers for eachnetwork-connected device. Here, the media guidance application willoutput device identifiers for the television and two tablets. Byoutputting the device identifiers for the network-connected devices, themedia guidance application is able to identify the correct devices toperform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the deviceidentifier that corresponds to the second keyword to the databaselisting device identifiers corresponding to network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, upon determining that thetelevision and two tablets are capable devices, the device identifiersfor the two tablets and the television (which correspond to the secondkeyword “everyone”), is input into the database. By having a deviceidentification, the media guidance application can accurately determinethe correct network-operating device to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing device identifiers corresponding to network-connecteddevices based on the device identifier that corresponds to the secondkeyword to identify the target device. Continuing from the previousexample, the database results will filter all the device identifiers toonly the two tablets and the television. By filtering the deviceidentifiers, the media guidance application can more accuratelydetermine the target devices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output thetarget device. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may output both the tablets and the television as the targetdevices. By outputting the determined target devices, the media guidanceapplication can identify the correct devices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actionand the target device into a database listing criteria identifierscorresponding to specific actions on specific network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, upon determining that thetelevision and two tablets are the target devices and the action (e.g.,“exit media program and turn off device”) are input into the database.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing criteria identifiers corresponding to specific actionson specific network-connected devices based on the action and the targetdevice to identify the plurality of criteria identifiers for performingthe action on the target device. Continuing from the previous example,the database results will filter all the device specific criteriaidentifiers specific to the target devices such as “device shut-off”,“pause”, and “blank screen”. By filtering the criteria identifiers, themedia guidance application can more accurately determine the targetdevices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output theplurality of criteria identifiers for performing the action on thetarget device. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may output all criteria identifiers (e.g., as mentionedabove). By outputting the criteria identifiers for the target devices,the media guidance application can identify the correct set of potentialaction criterion to be performed by the target devices.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actionand the target device into a database listing command codescorresponding to specific actions on specific network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, upon determining that thetelevision and two tablets are the target devices and the action (e.g.,“exit media program and turn off device”) are input into the database,the database lists specific command codes for specific actions. Forexample, the database may list a hash function corresponding to “deviceshut-off” for the television. By having corresponding command codes, themedia guidance application can accurately determine the target devicesto perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing command codes corresponding to specific actions onspecific network-connected devices based on the action and the targetdevice to identify the command code. Continuing from the previousexample, the database results will filter all the actions for the targetdevice based on the action and corresponding command codes.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output thecommand code. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may output the specific hash code. By outputting the commandcode, the media guidance application has specific data corresponding toa specific action for the target device which enables the action to beperformed with accuracy.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actioncriterion into a database listing command settings corresponding toperforming specific actions according to specific criteria on specificnetwork-connected devices. Continuing from the previous example, upondetermining that the television and two tablets must be turned off in“25 minutes” (e.g., action criterion), this is input into the database.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing command settings corresponding to performing specificactions according to specific criteria on specific network-connecteddevices based on the action criterion to identify the command settingfor executing the action on the target device according to the actioncriterion. Continuing from the previous example, the database resultswill filter all the actions for the target device based on the actioncriterion and identify a command setting for execution specific to thetwo tablets and the television. The command setting may be a devicerelated information.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output thecommand setting. Continuing from the previous example, the mediaguidance application may output the specific device related information.By outputting the command setting, the media guidance application hasspecific data corresponding to a specific action for the target devicewhich enables the action to be performed with accuracy.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate thecommand based on the command code and the command setting. Continuingfrom the previous example, the command for the television and twotablets may be generated by the hash code (e.g., command code) and thecommand setting (e.g., device related information). By generating thecommand based on both the command code and the command setting, themedia guidance application has specific data corresponding to a specificaction for the target device which enables the action to be performedwith accuracy.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve theplurality of criteria identifiers from the first user device. Continuingfrom the previous example, the media guidance application may retrievethe criteria identifiers from the father's mobile phone from which theinput was given. For example, the mobile phone may have informationabout the television and two tablets (e.g., target devices) which may beuseful to determining the criteria identifiers of the target devices. Byretrieving the criteria identifiers from the first user device, themedia guidance application may expediently configure the target devicesto perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve customcriteria identifiers to be used as the plurality of criteriaidentifiers, wherein the custom criteria identifiers are retrieved froman external source. Continuing from the previous example, the mediaguidance application may retrieve the criteria identifiers from thetelevision manufacturer's website which has full information and supportfor the television device. By retrieving the criteria identifiers froman external source, the media guidance application may expedientlyconfigure the target devices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may detectconnectivity of the target device to the first user device. Continuingfrom the previous example, the father's mobile phone may detect thetelevision on the same network.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve actiondata from the target device, wherein the action data comprises one ormore actions associated with the target device. Continuing from theprevious example, the father's mobile phone may retrieve information inrelation to the TV's functionality from his mobile phone.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate theplurality of criteria identifiers, wherein each of the plurality ofcriteria identifiers is associated with the action data. Continuing fromthe previous example, the father's mobile phone may create a number ofactions, specific to the television, from the retrieved information. Byretrieving the information from the target device upon connectivity tothe network, the media guidance application efficiently gathers theinformation needed to determine whether the target device can accomplishthe action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may transmit arequest to a remote server for action data in association with thetarget device, wherein action data comprises one or more actionsassociated with the target device. Continuing from the previous example,the media guidance application may send a request to the television(e.g., target device) manufacturer's website for action data (e.g.,types of features/actions associated with the television). By retrievingthe information from a remote server, the media guidance applicationreceives information required to determine whether the target device iscapable to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may receive theaction data from the remote server in association with the targetdevice. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may receive, from the manufacturer's website, action dataassociated with the television.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate theplurality of criteria identifiers, wherein each of the plurality ofcriteria identifiers is associated with the action data. Continuing fromthe previous example, the media guidance application may generate, basedon the action data, a number of criteria identifiers which are used todetermine whether the target deice can perform the action criterion(e.g., “leave . . . in 25 minutes”). By generating criteria identifiersfrom action data from a remote server, the media guidance applicationreceives information required to determine whether the target deice iscapable to perform the action.

It should also be noted that the systems and/or methods described abovemay be applied to, or used in accordance with, other systems and/ormethods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The below and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1A shows an illustrative embodiment of three family memberswatching a first common media asset in two distinct rooms on respectiveelectronic devices at a first time period;

FIG. 1B shows an illustrative embodiment of three family memberswatching a first common media asset in two distinct rooms on respectiveelectronic devices at a second time period;

FIG. 1C shows an illustrative embodiment of three family memberswatching a first common media asset in two distinct rooms on respectiveelectronic devices at a third time period;

FIG. 1D shows an illustrative embodiment of three family memberswatching a second common media asset in two distinct rooms on respectiveelectronic devices at a first time period;

FIG. 1E shows an illustrative embodiment of three family memberswatching a second common media asset in two distinct rooms on respectiveelectronic devices at a second time period;

FIG. 2 shows an illustrative embodiment of a display screen that may beused to provide media guidance application listings and other mediaguidance information, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 3 shows another illustrative embodiment of a display screen thatmay be used to provide media guidance application listings, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment (UE) device,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process for performing actions onnetwork-connected objects in response to reminders on devices, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a process for determining the actioncorresponding to the action identifier, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process for determining the plurality ofnetwork-connected devices capable of performing the action, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a determining a plurality of device identifiers for each ofthe plurality of network-connected devices, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process for determining, based on the secondkeyword, the target device, from the plurality of network-connecteddevices, for performing the action, in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process for determining the plurality ofcriteria identifiers for performing the action on the target device, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a process for determining the command forexecuting the action on the target device according to the actioncriterion, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a process for determining the plurality ofcriteria identifiers for performing the action on the target device, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a process for retrieving custom criteriaidentifiers from an external source, in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure; and

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a process for retrieving custom criteriaidentifiers from an external source, in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods are described herein for performing actions onnetwork-connected objects in response to reminders on devices. In someaspects, the media guidance application may perform the followingactions to enable performing actions on network-connected objects inresponse to reminders on devices. The media guidance application mayreceive, from a user, an input from a first user device. In someembodiments, an input may be any type of information received by theuser device. For example, an input may be an audio message from a userreceived by the user device. In some embodiments, the input may be atextual message sent to the user device. In some embodiments, the inputmay be a picture (e.g., setting, text, code, etc.). For example, themedia guidance application may receive a voice input from a user (e.g.,a father) smartphone stating that “set reminder for everyone to leavefor grandma's house in 25 minutes.” FIG. 1A shows an illustrativeembodiment 100 of three family members watching a first common mediaasset (e.g., The Lion King) in two distinct rooms (e.g., 120 and 122) onrespective electronic devices at a first time period. Specifically, thefather 102 is watching the media on a television 106 where the contentdisplayed on the television 116 is the same as the content displayed 118for his two sons (108 and 112) watching on their respective tabletdevices, 110 and 114 respectively. The father inputs the voice commandto his mobile phone 104. By receiving the input from a first userdevice, the media guidance application may be able to perform furtheranalysis to coordinate network-connected objects based on this input.

The media guidance application may parse, at the first user device,words of the input. The parsing may identify a first keywordcorresponding to an action identifier for one of a plurality of networkactions. In some embodiments, the word may be one or more words or aphrase. Continuing from the previous example, upon the father'ssmartphone receiving the initial voice input, the voice input is parsedto identify a first keyword corresponding to an action identifier. Inthe current example, the action is “leave” from the voice input. Bydetermining a keyword from the parsed input, further matching analysismay be conducted in order to send commands to a network-connecteddevice.

The media guidance application may determine, at the first user device,an action corresponding to the action identifier. Continuing from theprevious example, the media guidance application may determine an actioncorresponding to the action identifier “leave.” Here the media guidanceapplication may access a database look-up table which corresponds“leave” with the action “exit media program and turn off device”. Bydetermining an action corresponding to the action identifier, the mediaguidance application may determine which devices may be applicable tocarry out the specific action and can coordinate a network-connecteddevice to perform the action.

The media guidance application may determine, at the first user device,a plurality of network-connected devices capable of performing theaction. In some embodiments, a network connected device is any devicewith a processor and network connectivity. For example, anetwork-connected device may be a mobile phone, smart appliances (e.g.,fridge, blender, toaster, oven, washer dryer, etc.), furniture (e.g.,couch, table, chairs, etc.), house related fixtures or equipment (e.g.,lighting, HVAC devices, doors, floors, etc.). Continuing from theprevious example, the media guidance application may determine alldevices known to the local network capable of performing the “exit mediaprogram and turn off device.”. By determining the relevant devices whichcan perform the action, the media guidance application is able todetermine a set of devices from which it is possible to assign a commandto carry out the function.

The media guidance application may determine a plurality of deviceidentifiers for each of the plurality of network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, the media guidance application maydetermine all device identifiers by, for example, requesting the networkidentifiers of each of the devices connected to the network. By beingable to identify the network devices, the media guidance application hasmeans to identify the relevant devices in order to send commands forperforming the action.

The media guidance application may execute a first comparison of each ofthe device identifiers for each of the network-connected devices, to thewords of the input to identify a second keyword. The second keywordcorresponds to one of the plurality of device identifiers for one of theplurality of network-connected devices. Continuing from the previousexample, the media guidance application may then compare each of thedevice identifiers with a second keyword “everyone” from the voiceinput. The media guidance application may interpret “everyone” toinclude all detected network-connected devices. By determining devicesby parsing a second keyword from the input, the media guidanceapplication is able to direct a command to a set device to perform theaction.

The media guidance application may determine, based on the secondkeyword, a target device, from the plurality of network-connecteddevices, for performing the action. Continuing from the previousexample, the media guidance application may determine, through thedevice identifiers, that the television and two tablets are currentlyplaying the media content, and each of them are capable of the action of“exit media program and turn off device.” Thus, the media guidanceapplication identifies these devices as the target devices to performthe action. By identifying one or more target devices, the mediaguidance application is able to direct a command to a set device toperform the action.

The media guidance application may determine a plurality of criteriaidentifiers for performing the action on the target device. Continuingfrom the previous example, the media guidance application may thendetermine all of the criteria identifiers for performing the action onthe target device (e.g., all possible criteria identifiers for theaction associated with shutting off the device is determined for thetablets and television devices). By identifying all criteria identifiersof the target devices, a higher level of configuration may be applied toensure a more accurate command for performing the action.

The media guidance application may execute a second comparison of eachof the plurality of criteria identifiers for performing the action onthe target device to the words of the input to identify a third keyword.The third keyword corresponds to an action criterion performing theaction on the target device. Continuing from the previous example, eachof the previously determined criteria identifiers are compared with theinitial input which matches a third keyword parsed from the voice input,namely “in 25 minutes.” By identifying an action criterion of the targetdevices, a higher level of configuration may be applied to ensure a moreaccurate command for performing the action.

The media guidance application may determine a command for executing theaction on the target device according to the action criterion.Continuing from the previous example, the media guidance application maydetermine that the action of “exit media program and turn off device”will be responsive to the action criterion of a timer of 25 minutes frominitiation of this instruction. By using the action criterion, a devicespecific command may be implemented on a target device which isnetwork-connected in order to perform the action.

The media guidance application may transmit the command, from the firstuser device, to the target device. Continuing from the previous example,the media guidance application may determine the corresponding commandfor each of the television and two tablet devices and transmits thecommands respectively. As the father watches the media on thetelevision, and the sons are watching on their respective tablets, uponthe 25 minutes expiration, the movie will close and each device willpower off. FIG. 1B shows an illustrative embodiment of three familymembers watching a first common media asset in two distinct rooms onrespective electronic devices at a second time period. The media content(116 and 118) on the television 106 and the tablets, 110 and 114respectively, provide for the reminder “Reminder! Dinner at Grandmas!”after the 25 minute timer has come to conclusion. FIG. 1C shows anillustrative embodiment of three family members watching a first commonmedia asset in two distinct rooms on respective electronic devices at athird time period. After the reminder is provided, the command is forthe target devices (e.g., the television, and two tablets) to shutdown.As seen in FIG. 1C, the media content 116, and 118 on the television andtablets respectively have been exited and the device turned off. Bysending the commands to the target devices, each of the network-operateddevices are able to perform the action.

FIG. 1D shows an illustrative embodiment of three family memberswatching a second common media asset in two distinct rooms on respectiveelectronic devices at a first time period. The father and the sons arewatching a hockey game on their respective devices (the television 116and the two tablets 110 and 114). FIG. 1E shows an illustrativeembodiment of three family members watching a second common media assetin two distinct rooms on respective electronic devices at a second timeperiod. In this scenario, the father has administrative privilege wherehe has configured the command to provide a reminder to onlynon-administrative parties. In this case, after the conclusion of thefirst period, the reminder was issued to the sons to “Reminder: Cleanyour room!”. The sons cannot override this reminder sent from theadministrator and continue to watch content without the express overridecommand from the administrator. In some embodiments, this may beconfigured to have a time-out such that after one hour the blockedscreen, of the reminder, is lifted. This is one example of permissionsbased reminders where the reminders effect a defined group of users onthe network. The group of users can be automatically grouped based ondevice identity or other characteristics of the device or assigned useraccount with the device. In some embodiments, the administrator canmanually configure the reminders for various network groups. In yetother embodiments, the reminders are automatically configured forcertain groups based on pre-configured rules.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actionidentifier into a database listing actions corresponding to actionidentifiers. Continuing from the previous example, the action identifieris “leave” from the voice input. This is entered into a database whichcontains various actions and having corresponding action identifiers. Insome embodiments, the database may be local to the network. In someembodiments, the database may be remote. In some embodiments, thedatabase may be part of the user device, target device, or other networkdevice. By having a correspondence between a parsed term (e.g., actionidentifier) and the action itself, the media guidance application cantranslate a voice command to a device specific action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing actions corresponding to action identifiers based onthe action identifier to identify the action. Continuing from theprevious example, the database results will filter all results toresults in relation to “leave” such as “shut-down”, “pause”, “blankscreen”, “transfer screen to secondary device” (e.g., mobile device). Byfiltering the different device based functions, the media guidanceapplication may translate a voice command to a device specific action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine if anyof the filtered actions listed in the database correspond to the actionidentifier input. If yes, the media guidance application outputs theaction. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may retrieve “leave” with the action “exit media program andturn off device.” The media guidance application then outputs theaction. By outputting the determined action, the media guidanceapplication may translate a voice command to a device specific action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actioninto a database which lists network-connected devices capable ofperforming actions. Continuing from the previous example, upondetermining the action “exit media program and turn off device”, themedia guidance application may input this action into a database whichlists the number of network-connected devices which are capable ofperforming this action. For example, the database may list thetelevision and two tablets are capable devices. By having a databasedetermine the specific devices capable of performing the action, themedia guidance application can accurately determine the correctnetwork-operating device to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing network-connected devices capable of performing actionsbased on the action to identify the plurality of network-connecteddevices capable of performing the action. Continuing from the previousexample, the database results will filter all results to only thosedevices which can perform the action. Here, both the tablets and thetelevision can perform the “exit media program and turn off device”action. By filtering the different device based functions, the mediaguidance application may translate a voice command to a device specificaction.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output theplurality of network-connected devices capable of performing the action.Continuing from the previous example, the media guidance application mayoutput the tablets and the television as devices capable of performingthe action of “exit media program and turn off device.” By outputtingthe capable devices action, the media guidance application is able toidentify the correct devices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input each ofthe plurality of network-connected devices into a database listingdevice identifiers corresponding to network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, upon determining that thetelevision and two tablets are capable devices, the database lists thedevice identifiers for specific network-connected devices (e.g., bynetwork device identification). By having a device identification, themedia guidance application can accurately determine the correctnetwork-operating device to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing device identifiers corresponding to network-connecteddevices based on each of the plurality of network-connected devices toidentify the plurality of device identifiers for each of the pluralityof network-connected devices. Continuing from the previous example, thedatabase results will filter all the device identifiers to only thosedevices which are connected to the network. Here, both the tablets andthe television are connected to the home network and thus will be listedas “filtered” results. By filtering the device identifiers, the mediaguidance application can more accurately determine the target devices toperform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output theplurality of device identifiers for each of the plurality ofnetwork-connected devices. Continuing from the previous example, themedia guidance application may output the device identifiers for eachnetwork-connected device. Here, the media guidance application willoutput device identifiers for the television and two tablets. Byoutputting the device identifiers for the network-connected devices, themedia guidance application is able to identify the correct devices toperform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the deviceidentifier that corresponds to the second keyword to the databaselisting device identifiers corresponding to network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, upon determining that thetelevision and two tablets are capable devices, the device identifiersfor the two tablets and the television (which correspond to the secondkeyword “everyone”), is input into the database. By having a deviceidentification, the media guidance application can accurately determinethe correct network-operating device to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing device identifiers corresponding to network-connecteddevices based on the device identifier that corresponds to the secondkeyword to identify the target device. Continuing from the previousexample, the database results will filter all the device identifiers toonly the two tablets and the television. By filtering the deviceidentifiers, the media guidance application can more accuratelydetermine the target devices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output thetarget device. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may output both the tablets and the television as the targetdevices. By outputting the determined target devices, the media guidanceapplication can identify the correct devices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actionand the target device into a database listing criteria identifierscorresponding to specific actions on specific network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, upon determining that thetelevision and two tablets are the target devices and the action (e.g.,“exit media program and turn off device”) are input into the database.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing criteria identifiers corresponding to specific actionson specific network-connected devices based on the action and the targetdevice to identify the plurality of criteria identifiers for performingthe action on the target device. Continuing from the previous example,the database results will filter all the device specific criteriaidentifiers specific to the target devices such as “device shut-off”,“pause”, and “blank screen”. By filtering the criteria identifiers, themedia guidance application can more accurately determine the targetdevices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output theplurality of criteria identifiers for performing the action on thetarget device. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may output all criteria identifiers (e.g., as mentionedabove). By outputting the criteria identifiers for the target devices,the media guidance application can identify the correct set of potentialaction criterion to be performed by the target devices.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actionand the target device into a database listing command codescorresponding to specific actions on specific network-connected devices.Continuing from the previous example, upon determining that thetelevision and two tablets are the target devices and the action (e.g.,“exit media program and turn off device”) are input into the database,the database lists specific command codes for specific actions. Forexample, the database may list a hash function corresponding to “shutout device” for the television. In some embodiments, the command codemay be any variant of digital information, cryptography, blockchain,hash function, mathematical function, or similar code. By havingcorresponding command codes, the media guidance application canaccurately determine the target devices to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing command codes corresponding to specific actions onspecific network-connected devices based on the action and the targetdevice to identify the command code. Continuing from the previousexample, the database results will filter all the actions for the targetdevice based on the action and corresponding command codes.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output thecommand code. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may output the specific hash code. By outputting the commandcode, the media guidance application has specific data corresponding toa specific action for the target device which enables the action to beperformed with accuracy.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may input the actioncriterion into a database listing command settings corresponding toperforming specific actions according to specific criteria on specificnetwork-connected devices. In some embodiments, the command setting maybe any variant of digital information, cryptography, blockchain, hashfunction, mathematical function, or similar code. Continuing from theprevious example, upon determining that the television and two tabletsmust be turned off in “25 minutes” (e.g., action criterion), this isinput into the database.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may filter thedatabase listing command settings corresponding to performing specificactions according to specific criteria on specific network-connecteddevices based on the action criterion to identify the command settingfor executing the action on the target device according to the actioncriterion. Continuing from the previous example, the database resultswill filter all the actions for the target device based on the actioncriterion and identify a command setting for execution specific to thetwo tablets and the television. The command setting may be a devicerelated information.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may output thecommand setting. Continuing from the previous example, the mediaguidance application may output the specific device related information.By outputting the command setting, the media guidance application hasspecific data corresponding to a specific action for the target devicewhich enables the action to be performed with accuracy.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate thecommand based on the command code and the command setting. Continuingfrom the previous example, the command for the television and twotablets may be generated by the hash code (e.g., command code) and thecommand setting (e.g., device related information). By generating thecommand based on both the command code and the command setting, themedia guidance application has specific data corresponding to a specificaction for the target device which enables the action to be performedwith accuracy.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve theplurality of criteria identifiers from the first user device. Continuingfrom the previous example, the media guidance application may retrievethe criteria identifiers from the father's mobile phone from which theinput was given. For example, the mobile phone may have informationabout the television and two tablets (e.g., target devices) which may beuseful to determining the criteria identifiers of the target devices. Insome embodiments, the user device may prepopulate its memory withinformation of all network-connected devices on the network. Byretrieving the criteria identifiers from the first user device, themedia guidance application may expediently configure the target devicesto perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve customcriteria identifiers to be used as the plurality of criteriaidentifiers, wherein the custom criteria identifiers are retrieved froman external source. Continuing from the previous example, the mediaguidance application may retrieve the criteria identifiers from thetelevision manufacturer's website which has full information and supportfor the television device. In some embodiments, an external source maybe a remote server, a manufacturer's website, a device repository, apreprogrammed destination by the network-connected object. By retrievingthe criteria identifiers from an external source, the media guidanceapplication may expediently configure the target devices to perform theaction.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may detectconnectivity of the target device to the first user device. Continuingfrom the previous example, the father's mobile phone may detect thetelevision on the same network.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve actiondata from the target device, wherein the action data comprises one ormore actions associated with the target device. Continuing from theprevious example, the father's mobile phone may retrieve information inrelation to the TV's functionality from his mobile phone.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate theplurality of criteria identifiers, wherein each of the plurality ofcriteria identifiers is associated with the action data. Continuing fromthe previous example, the father's mobile phone may create a number ofactions, specific to the television, from the retrieved information. Byretrieving the information from the target device upon connectivity tothe network, the media guidance application efficiently gathers theinformation needed to determine whether the target device can accomplishthe action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may transmit arequest to a remote server for action data in association with thetarget device, wherein action data comprises one or more actionsassociated with the target device. Continuing from the previous example,the media guidance application may send a request to the television(e.g., target device) manufacturer's website for action data (e.g.,types of features/actions associated with the television). By retrievingthe information from a remote server, the media guidance applicationreceives information required to determine whether the target device iscapable to perform the action.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may receive theaction data from the remote server in association with the targetdevice. Continuing from the previous example, the media guidanceapplication may receive, from the manufacturer's website, action dataassociated with the television.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate theplurality of criteria identifiers, wherein each of the plurality ofcriteria identifiers is associated with the action data. Continuing fromthe previous example, the media guidance application may generate, basedon the action data, a number of criteria identifiers which are used todetermine whether the target device can perform the action criterion(e.g., “leave . . . in 25 minutes”). By generating criteria identifiersfrom action data from a remote server, the media guidance applicationreceives information required to determine whether the target device iscapable to perform the action.

The amount of content available to users in any given content deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate content selections and easily identify content that they maydesire. An application that provides such guidance is referred to hereinas an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, a mediaguidance application or a guidance application.

The amount of content available to users in any given content deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate content selections and easily identify content that they maydesire. An application that provides such guidance is referred to hereinas an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, a mediaguidance application or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type ofmedia guidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate and select content. As referred to herein, the terms“media asset” and “content” should be understood to mean anelectronically consumable user asset, such as television programming, aswell as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand(VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadablecontent, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information,pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles,books, electronic books, blogs, chat sessions, social media,applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/orcombination of the same. Guidance applications also allow users tonavigate among and locate content. As referred to herein, the term“multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes at leasttwo different content forms described above, for example, text, audio,images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded,played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices, but can also bepart of a live performance.

The media guidance application and/or any instructions for performingany of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computerreadable media. Computer readable media includes any media capable ofstoring data. The computer readable media may be transitory, including,but not limited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals,or may be non-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile andnon-volatile computer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk,floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media cards, register memory, processorcaches, Random Access Memory (“RAM”), etc.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment deviceson which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase“user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronicdevice,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “mediadevice” should be understood to mean any device for accessing thecontent described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-topbox, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellitetelevision, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), adigital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, aDVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, aBLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PCmedia server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationarytelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computingequipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In someembodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screenand a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angledscreens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a frontfacing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipmentdevices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase “mediaguidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any datarelated to content or data used in operating the guidance application.For example, the guidance data may include program information, guidanceapplication settings, user preferences, user profile information, medialistings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcastchannels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parentalcontrol ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information,actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos,etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D,etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites, and any other type ofguidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locatedesired content selections.

FIGS. 2-3 show illustrative display screens that may be used to providemedia guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS. 2-3 may beimplemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform. While thedisplays of FIGS. 2-3 are illustrated as full screen displays, they mayalso be fully or partially overlaid over content being displayed. A usermay indicate a desire to access content information by selecting aselectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a menu option, alistings option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicatedbutton (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user inputinterface or device. In response to the user's indication, the mediaguidance application may provide a display screen with media guidancedata organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in agrid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category(e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories ofprogramming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other organizationcriteria.

FIG. 2 shows illustrative grid of a program listings display 200arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different typesof content in a single display. Display 200 may include grid 202 with:(1) a column of channel/content type identifiers 204, where eachchannel/content type identifier (which is a cell in the column)identifies a different channel or content type available; and (2) a rowof time identifiers 206, where each time identifier (which is a cell inthe row) identifies a time block of programming Grid 202 also includescells of program listings, such as program listing 208, where eachlisting provides the title of the program provided on the listing'sassociated channel and time. With a user input device, a user can selectprogram listings by moving highlight region 210. Information relating tothe program listing selected by highlight region 210 may be provided inprogram information region 212. Region 212 may include, for example, theprogram title, the program description, the time the program is provided(if applicable), the channel the program is on (if applicable), theprogram's rating, and other desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined time and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 202 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 214, recorded content listing 216, andInternet content listing 218. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 200 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings214, 216, and 218 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayedin grid 202 to indicate that selection of these listings may provideaccess to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings,or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings forthese content types may be included directly in grid 202. Additionalmedia guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 220. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 220.)

Display 200 may also include video region 222, and options region 226.Video region 222 may allow the user to view and/or preview programs thatare currently available, will be available, or were available to theuser. The content of video region 222 may correspond to, or beindependent from, one of the listings displayed in grid 202. Griddisplays including a video region are sometimes referred to aspicture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and their functionalitiesare described in greater detail in Satterfield et al. U.S. Pat. No.6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794,issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference hereinin their entireties. PIG displays may be included in other mediaguidance application display screens of the embodiments describedherein.

Options region 226 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 226 may be part of display 200 (andother display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user byselecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignablebutton on a user input device. The selectable options within optionsregion 226 may concern features related to program listings in grid 202or may include options available from a main menu display. Featuresrelated to program listings may include searching for other air times orways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling seriesrecording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a mainmenu display may include search options, VOD options, parental controloptions, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronizationoptions, second screen device options, options to access various typesof media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premiumservice, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browseoverlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channelsbased on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display ofchannels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internetcontent (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail,electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desiredcustomizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.Tivo.com, from other media guidance applicationsthe user accesses, from other interactive applications the useraccesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.), and/orobtain information about the user from other sources that the mediaguidance application may access. As a result, a user can be providedwith a unified guidance application experience across the user'sdifferent user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 5 . Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 3 . Video mosaic display 300 includes selectable options 302 forcontent information organized based on content type, genre, and/or otherorganization criteria. In display 300, television listings option 304 isselected, thus providing listings 306, 308, 310, and 312 as broadcastprogram listings. In display 300 the listings may provide graphicalimages including cover art, still images from the content, video clippreviews, live video from the content, or other types of content thatindicate to a user the content being described by the media guidancedata in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also beaccompanied by text to provide further information about the contentassociated with the listing. For example, listing 308 may include morethan one portion, including media portion 314 and text portion 316.Media portion 314 and/or text portion 316 may be selectable to viewcontent in full-screen or to view information related to the contentdisplayed in media portion 314 (e.g., to view listings for the channelthat the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 300 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 306 islarger than listings 308, 310, and 312), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider orbased on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Nov. 12, 2009,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 4 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 400. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 5 .User equipment device 400 may receive content and data via input/output(hereinafter “I/O”) path 402. I/O path 402 may provide content (e.g.,broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, contentavailable over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 404, which includesprocessing circuitry 406 and storage 408. Control circuitry 404 may beused to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 402. I/O path 402 may connect control circuitry 404 (andspecifically processing circuitry 406) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 404 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 406. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 404 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 408). Specifically, control circuitry 404 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 404 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 404 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 404 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, adigital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card,or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or anyother suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 5 ). Inaddition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enablespeer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communicationof user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (describedin more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 408 thatis part of control circuitry 404. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 408 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance data described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used(e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-basedstorage, described in relation to FIG. 5 , may be used to supplementstorage 408 or instead of storage 408.

Control circuitry 404 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 404 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment 400. Circuitry 404 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 408 is provided as a separate device from userequipment 400, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multipletuners) may be associated with storage 408.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 404 using user inputinterface 410. User input interface 410 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 412 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 400. For example, display 412 may be a touchscreen ortouch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface 410may be integrated with or combined with display 412. Display 412 may beone or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD)for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperature polysilicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display, activematrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display, cathoderay tube display, light-emitting diode display, electroluminescentdisplay, plasma display panel, high-performance addressing display,thin-film transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display,surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser television,carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric modulatordisplay, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images.In some embodiments, display 412 may be HDTV-capable. In someembodiments, display 412 may be a 3D display, and the interactive mediaguidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. Avideo card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 412.The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated renderingof 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry404. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 404.Speakers 414 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 400 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 412 may be played throughspeakers 414. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers414.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone applicationwholly-implemented on user equipment device 400. In such an approach,instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., in storage408), and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodicbasis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, orusing another suitable approach). Control circuitry 404 may retrieveinstructions of the application from storage 408 and process theinstructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based onthe processed instructions, control circuitry 404 may determine whataction to perform when input is received from input interface 410. Forexample, movement of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated bythe processed instructions when input interface 410 indicates that anup/down button was selected.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-serverbased application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented onuser equipment device 400 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests toa server remote to the user equipment device 400. In one example of aclient-server based guidance application, control circuitry 404 runs aweb browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server. Forexample, the remote server may store the instructions for theapplication in a storage device. The remote server may process thestored instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 404) andgenerate the displays discussed above and below. The client device mayreceive the displays generated by the remote server and may generate fordisplay the content of the displays locally on equipment device 400.This way, the processing of the instructions is performed remotely bythe server while the resulting displays are provided locally onequipment device 400. Equipment device 400 may receive inputs from theuser via input interface 410 and transmit those inputs to the remoteserver for processing and generating the corresponding displays. Forexample, equipment device 400 may transmit a communication to the remoteserver indicating that an up/down button was selected via inputinterface 410. The remote server may process instructions in accordancewith that input and generate a display of the application correspondingto the input (e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). Thegenerated display is then transmitted to equipment device 400 forpresentation to the user.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 404). In some embodiments, the guidance applicationmay be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received bycontrol circuitry 404 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by auser agent running on control circuitry 404. For example, the guidanceapplication may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, theguidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files thatare received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitablemiddleware executed by control circuitry 404. In some of suchembodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 400 of FIG. 4 can be implemented in system 500 ofFIG. 5 as user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504,wireless user communications device 506, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gamingmachine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may besubstantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 4 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, or awireless user communications device 506. For example, user televisionequipment 502 may, like some user computer equipment 504, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 504 may, like some television equipment 502, includea tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 504, theguidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 506.

In system 500, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 5 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wireless user communicationsdevice 506) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example,a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first userequipment device. The content presented on the second screen device maybe any suitable content that supplements the content presented on thefirst device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides aninterface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the firstdevice. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured forinteracting with other second screen devices or for interacting with asocial network. The second screen device can be located in the same roomas the first device, a different room from the first device but in thesame house or building, or in a different building from the firstdevice.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.Tivo.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 514.Namely, user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, andwireless user communications device 506 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 514 via communications paths 508, 510, and 512, respectively.Communications network 514 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, orother types of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Paths 508, 510, and 512 may separately or together include oneor more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g.,IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 512 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5 it is awireless path and paths 508 and 510 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 508, 510, and 512, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 514.

System 500 includes content source 516 and media guidance data source518 coupled to communications network 514 via communication paths 520and 522, respectively. Paths 520 and 522 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 508, 510,and 512. Communications with the content source 516 and media guidancedata source 518 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 516 and media guidance data source 518, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 516 and media guidance data source 518 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between sources 516 and 518 withuser equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 are shown as throughcommunications network 514, in some embodiments, sources 516 and 518 maycommunicate directly with user equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 viacommunication paths (not shown) such as those described above inconnection with paths 508, 510, and 512.

Content source 516 may include one or more types of content distributionequipment including a television distribution facility, cable systemheadend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g.,television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediatedistribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demandmedia servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned bythe National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by theAmerican Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Content source 516 may be the originator ofcontent (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) ormay not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand contentprovider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs fordownloading, etc.). Content source 516 may include cable sources,satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 516 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 518 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance data may beprovided to the user equipment devices using any suitable approach. Insome embodiments, the guidance application may be a stand-aloneinteractive television program guide that receives program guide datavia a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed). Programschedule data and other guidance data may be provided to the userequipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Program schedule data and other mediaguidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog ordigital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 518may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 518 to obtainguidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of dateor when the user equipment device receives a request from the user toreceive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment withany suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specifiedperiod of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to arequest from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 518 mayprovide user equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

In some embodiments, the media guidance data may include viewer data.For example, the viewer data may include current and/or historical useractivity information (e.g., what content the user typically watches,what times of day the user watches content, whether the user interactswith a social network, at what times the user interacts with a socialnetwork to post information, what types of content the user typicallywatches (e.g., pay TV or free TV), mood, brain activity information,etc.). The media guidance data may also include subscription data. Forexample, the subscription data may identify to which sources or servicesa given user subscribes and/or to which sources or services the givenuser has previously subscribed but later terminated access (e.g.,whether the user subscribes to premium channels, whether the user hasadded a premium level of services, whether the user has increasedInternet speed). In some embodiments, the viewer data and/or thesubscription data may identify patterns of a given user for a period ofmore than one year. The media guidance data may include a model (e.g., asurvivor model) used for generating a score that indicates a likelihooda given user will terminate access to a service/source. For example, themedia guidance application may process the viewer data with thesubscription data using the model to generate a value or score thatindicates a likelihood of whether the given user will terminate accessto a particular service or source. In particular, a higher score mayindicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminateaccess to a particular service or source. Based on the score, the mediaguidance application may generate promotions that entice the user tokeep the particular service or source indicated by the score as one towhich the user will likely terminate access.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 408, and executedby control circuitry 404 of a user equipment device 400. In someembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 404 of user equipment device 400and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., mediaguidance data source 518) running on control circuitry of the remoteserver. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such asmedia guidance data source 518), the media guidance application mayinstruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance applicationdisplays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipmentdevices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry ofthe media guidance data source 518 to transmit data for storage on theuser equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry ofthe receiving user equipment to generate the guidance applicationdisplays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices502, 504, and 506 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 500 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 5 .

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 514.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. PatentPublication No. 2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 516 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 502 and user computer equipment 504may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 506 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 514. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 516 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 518. In addition, or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, and wirelessuser communications device 506. For example, the other user equipmentdevices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamedvideo. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in apeer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-storedcontent.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 504 or wireless usercommunications device 506 having content capture feature. Alternatively,the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, suchas user computer equipment 504. The user equipment device storing thecontent uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmissionservice on communications network 514. In some embodiments, the userequipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipmentdevices can access the content directly from the user equipment deviceon which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device candownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 4 .

As referred herein, the term “in response to” refers to initiated as aresult of. For example, a first action being performed in response to asecond action may include interstitial steps between the first actionand the second action. As referred herein, the term “directly inresponse to” refers to caused by. For example, a first action beingperformed directly in response to a second action may not includeinterstitial steps between the first action and the second action.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 600 for performingactions on network-connected objects in response to reminders ondevices, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Process600, and any of the following processes, may be executed by controlcircuitry 404 (e.g., in a manner instructed to control circuitry 404 bythe media guidance application). Control circuitry 404 may be part ofuser equipment (e.g., user equipment 108, which may have any or all ofthe functionality of user television equipment 502, user computerequipment 504, and/or wireless communications device 506), or of aremote server separated from the user equipment by way of communicationnetwork 514, or distributed over a combination of both.

At 602, control circuitry 404 receives, from a user, an input (e.g.,from user input interface 410) from a first user device (e.g., one ofuser television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, or wirelessuser communication device 506). For example, the media guidanceapplication receives voice input from the user interface 410 which issent through network communication means from a user device 504.

At 604, control circuitry 404 parses, at the first user device (e.g.,one of user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, orwireless user communication device 506), words of the input to identifya first keyword. The media guidance application, corresponds, by controlcircuitry 404, the first keyword, to an action identifier for one of aplurality of network actions. For example, the media guidanceapplication uses control circuitry 404 to convert the received voiceinput and converts it into textual information. The media guidanceapplication then parses the textual information by control circuitry 404and identifies a keyword/words/phrase.

At 606, control circuitry 404 determines, at the first user device(e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computer equipment504, or wireless user communication device 506), an action correspondingto the action identifier. For example, the control circuitry 404 takesthe identified keyword and determines an action using a similaritycomparison analysis between the action identifier and the action. Thismay be accomplished by using a database.

At 608, control circuitry 404 determines, at the first user device(e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computer equipment504, or wireless user communication device 506), a plurality ofnetwork-connected devices capable of performing the action (e.g., one ofuser television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wirelessuser communication device 506, media content source 516, or mediaguidance data source 518). For example, the control circuitry 404,through the media guidance application, determines the networkidentifiers for all network-connected devices and receive operationalinformation for each of the network-connected devices. The mediaguidance application uses the operational information to assesscapability of each device to perform the action.

At 610, control circuitry 404 determines, a plurality of deviceidentifiers for each of the plurality of network-connected devices. Forexample, control circuitry 404, through the media guidance application,receives the network identifiers for all the network-connected devices.

At 612, control circuitry 404 executes a first comparison of each of theplurality of device identifiers for each of the plurality ofnetwork-connected devices to the words of the input to identify a secondkeyword. The media guidance application, corresponds, by controlcircuitry 404, the second keyword to one of the plurality of deviceidentifiers for one of the plurality of network-connected devices (e.g.,one of user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504,wireless user communication device 506, media content source 516, ormedia guidance data source 518).

At 614, control circuitry 404 determines, based on the second keyword, atarget device, from the plurality of network-connected devices (e.g.,one of user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504,wireless user communication device 506, media content source 516, ormedia guidance data source 518), for performing the action. For example,control circuitry 404, through the media guidance application,determines the most capable device based on the number of similar typesof actions available to be performed by the same device.

At 616, control circuitry 404 determines a plurality of criteriaidentifiers for performing the action on the target device (e.g., one ofuser television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wirelessuser communication device 506, media content source 516, or mediaguidance data source 518). For example, control circuitry 404, throughthe media guidance application, retrieves the criteria identifiers forperforming the action on the target device from information storedwithin the target device.

At 618, control circuitry 404 executes a second comparison of each ofthe plurality of criteria identifiers for performing the action on thetarget device to the words of the input to identify a third keyword. Themedia guidance application, corresponds, by control circuitry 404, thethird keyword to an action criterion performing the action on the targetdevice (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computerequipment 504, wireless user communication device 506, media contentsource 516, or media guidance data source 518).

At 618, control circuitry 404 determines a command for executing theaction on the target device according to the action criterion. Forexample, the control circuitry 404, through the media guidanceapplication, determines a command by generating an instruction based onformat retrieved from the criteria identifiers from the same targetdevice.

At 620, control circuitry 404 transmits the command, from the first userdevice, to the target device (e.g., one of user television equipment502, user computer equipment 504, wireless user communication device506, media content source 516, or media guidance data source 518). Forexample, the transmission of the command by control circuitry 404 may bethrough communication means (e.g., wireless data packet communication)between control circuitry 404 and the target device.

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 700 fordetermining the action corresponding to the action identifier, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. At 702, controlcircuitry 404 inputs the action identifier into a database listingactions corresponding to action identifiers.

At 704, control circuitry 404 filters the database listing actionscorresponding to action identifiers based on the action identifier toidentify the action. For example, control circuitry 404 filters thedatabase based on a priority of devices. Control circuitry 404 creates apriority of devices and is based on a historical use of the devices bycontrol circuitry.

At 706, control circuitry 404 determines whether the database listingactions correspond to action identifiers based on the action identifieridentifying the action. If, at 708, control circuitry determines “No,”the database listing actions does not correspond to action identifiersbased on the action identifier identifying the action, the processadvances to 602.

If, at 708, control circuitry 404 determines “Yes,” the database listingactions corresponds to action identifiers based on the action identifieridentifying the action, the process advances to 710. At 710, controlcircuitry 404 outputs the action. For example, the control circuitry 404outputs the action through communication means (e.g., wireless datapacket communication) between control circuitry 404 and the targetdevice.

FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 800 fordetermining the plurality of network-connected devices capable ofperforming the action, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. At 802, control circuitry 404 inputs the action into adatabase listing network-connected devices (e.g., one of user televisionequipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wireless user communicationdevice 506, media content source 516, or media guidance data source 518)capable of performing actions.

At 804, control circuitry 404 filters the database listingnetwork-connected devices capable of performing actions based on theaction to identify the plurality of network-connected devices (e.g., oneof user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wirelessuser communication device 506, media content source 516, or mediaguidance data source 518) capable of performing the action. For example,control circuitry 404 filters the database based on a priority ofdevices. Control circuitry 404 creates a priority of devices and isbased on a historical use of the devices by control circuitry.

At 806, control circuitry 404 outputs the plurality of network-connecteddevices capable of performing the action. For example, the controlcircuitry 404 outputs the plurality of network-connected devices capableof performing the action through communication means (e.g., wirelessdata packet communication) between control circuitry 404 and therespective devices (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, usercomputer equipment 504, wireless user communication device 506, mediacontent source 516, or media guidance data source 518).

FIG. 9 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 900 fordetermining a plurality of device identifiers for each of the pluralityof network-connected devices, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. At 902, control circuitry 404 inputs each of the pluralityof network-connected devices into a database listing device identifierscorresponding to network-connected devices.

At 904, control circuitry 404 filters the database listing deviceidentifiers corresponding to network-connected devices based on each ofthe plurality of network-connected devices to identify the plurality ofdevice identifiers for each of the plurality of network-connecteddevices (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computerequipment 504, wireless user communication device 506, media contentsource 516, or media guidance data source 518).

At 906, control circuitry 404 outputs the plurality of deviceidentifiers for each of the plurality of network-connected devices(e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computer equipment504, wireless user communication device 506, media content source 516,or media guidance data source 518). For example, the control circuitry404 outputs the plurality of device identifiers for each of theplurality of network-connected devices through communication means(e.g., wireless data packet communication) between control circuitry 404and the respective devices (e.g., one of user television equipment 502,user computer equipment 504, wireless user communication device 506,media content source 516, or media guidance data source 518).

FIG. 10 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 1000 fordetermining, based on the second keyword, the target device, from theplurality of network-connected devices, for performing the action, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. At 1002, controlcircuitry 404 inputs the device identifier that corresponds to thesecond keyword to the database listing device identifiers correspondingto network-connected devices.

At 1004, control circuitry 404 filters the database listing deviceidentifiers corresponding to network-connected devices based on thedevice identifier that corresponds to the second keyword to identify thetarget device (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computerequipment 504, wireless user communication device 506, media contentsource 516, or media guidance data source 518).

At 1006, control circuitry 404 determines whether the filtered deviceidentifiers correspond to network-connected devices based on the deviceidentifier that corresponds to the second keyword to identify the targetdevice (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computerequipment 504, wireless user communication device 506, media contentsource 516, or media guidance data source 518). If, at 1008, controlcircuitry determines “No,” the filtered device identifiers do notcorrespond to network-connected devices based on the device identifierthat corresponds to the second keyword to identify the target device,the process advances to 602.

If, at 1008, control circuitry 404 determines “Yes,” the filtered deviceidentifiers correspond to network-connected devices based on deviceidentifier that corresponds to the second keyword to identify the targetdevice, the process advances to 1010. At 1010, control circuitry 404outputs the target device (e.g., one of user television equipment 502,user computer equipment 504, wireless user communication device 506,media content source 516, or media guidance data source 518).

FIG. 11 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 1100 fordetermining the plurality of criteria identifiers for performing theaction on the target device, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. At 1102, control circuitry 404 inputs the action and thetarget device into a database listing criteria identifiers correspondingto specific actions on specific network-connected devices (e.g., one ofuser television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wirelessuser communication device 506, media content source 516, or mediaguidance data source 518).

At 1104, control circuitry 404 filters the database listing criteriaidentifiers corresponding to specific actions on specificnetwork-connected devices based on the action and the target device toidentify the plurality of criteria identifiers for performing the actionon the target device (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, usercomputer equipment 504, wireless user communication device 506, mediacontent source 516, or media guidance data source 518).

At 1106, control circuitry 404 outputs the plurality of criteriaidentifiers for performing the action on the target device (e.g., one ofuser television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wirelessuser communication device 506, media content source 516, or mediaguidance data source 518). For example, the control circuitry 404outputs the plurality of criteria identifiers for performing the actionon the target device through communication means (e.g., wireless datapacket communication) between control circuitry 404 and the targetdevices (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computerequipment 504, wireless user communication device 506).

FIG. 12 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 1200 fordetermining the command for executing the action on the target deviceaccording to the action criterion, in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure. At 1202, control circuitry 404 inputs the action andthe target device into a database listing command codes corresponding tospecific actions on specific network-connected devices (e.g., one ofuser television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wirelessuser communication device 506, media content source 516, or mediaguidance data source 518).

At 1204, control circuitry 404 filters the database listing commandcodes corresponding to specific actions on specific network-connecteddevices based on the action and the target device (e.g., one of usertelevision equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wireless usercommunication device 506, media content source 516, or media guidancedata source 518) to identify the command code.

At 1206, control circuitry 404 outputs the command code. For example,the control circuitry 404 outputs the command code in a memory withinthe storage 608.

At 1208, control circuitry 404 inputs the action criterion into adatabase listing command settings corresponding to performing specificactions according to specific criteria on specific network-connecteddevices (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computerequipment 504, wireless user communication device 506, media contentsource 516, or media guidance data source 518).

At 1210, control circuitry 404 filters the database listing commandsettings corresponding to performing specific actions according tospecific criteria on specific network-connected devices based on theaction criterion to identify the command setting for executing theaction on the target device according to the action criterion.

At 1212, control circuitry 404 outputs the command setting. For example,the control circuitry 404 outputs the command setting in a memory withinthe storage 608.

At 1214, control circuitry 404 generates the command based on thecommand code and the command setting. For example, control circuitry 404retrieves the command code and command setting from storage 608, andgenerates a command for the target device.

FIG. 13 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 1300 fordetermining the plurality of criteria identifiers for performing theaction on the target device, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. At 1302, control circuitry 404 retrieves the plurality ofcriteria identifiers from the first user device (e.g., one of usertelevision equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, or wireless usercommunication device 506).

At 1304, control circuitry 404 retrieves custom criteria identifiers tobe used as the plurality of criteria identifiers. The media guidanceapplication, retrieves, through control circuitry 404 the customcriteria identifiers from an external source.

FIG. 14 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 1400 forretrieving custom criteria identifiers from an external source, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. At 1402, controlcircuitry 404 detects the connectivity of the target device to the firstuser device (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, user computerequipment 504, or wireless user communication device 506).

At 1402, control circuitry 404 retrieves action data from the targetdevice, wherein the action data comprises one or more actions associatedwith the target device (e.g., one of user television equipment 502, usercomputer equipment 504, wireless user communication device 506, mediacontent source 516, or media guidance data source 518). For example, thecontrol circuitry 404 retrieves the action data from the target deviceby sending a retrieve command to the device identifier of the targetdevice.

At 1404, control circuitry 404 generates the plurality of criteriaidentifiers, wherein each of the plurality of criteria identifiers isassociated with the action data. For example, the control circuitry 404creates a plurality of criteria identifiers from information containedwithin the action data specific to the target device.

FIG. 15 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process 1500 forretrieving custom criteria identifiers from an external source, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. At 1502, controlcircuitry 404 transmits a request to a remote server for action data inassociation with the target device, wherein action data comprises one ormore actions associated with the target device (e.g., one of usertelevision equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wireless usercommunication device 506, media content source 516, or media guidancedata source 518).

At 1502, control circuitry 404 retrieves the action data from the remoteserver in association with the target device (e.g., one of usertelevision equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wireless usercommunication device 506, media content source 516, or media guidancedata source 518). For example, the control circuitry 404, through themedia guidance application, may send a request to a remote server 715 toretrieve specific information in relation to the target device.

At 1504, control circuitry 404 generates the plurality of criteriaidentifiers, wherein each of the plurality of criteria identifiers isassociated with the action data. For example, the control circuitry 404creates a plurality of criteria identifiers from information receivedfrom the remote server 715.

It should be noted that processes 600-1500 or any step thereof could beperformed on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 1 and4-5 . For example, any of processes 600-1500 may be executed by controlcircuitry 404 (FIG. 4 ) as instructed by control circuitry implementedon user equipment 502, 504, 506 (FIG. 5 ), and/or a user equipmentdevice for selecting a recommendation. In addition, one or more steps ofprocesses 600-1500 may be incorporated into or combined with one or moresteps of any other process or embodiment.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of each of FIGS. 6-15may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition,the steps and descriptions described in relation to FIGS. 6-15 may bedone in alternative orders or in parallel to further the purposes ofthis disclosure. For example, each of these steps may be performed inany order or in parallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lagor increase the speed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should benoted that any of the devices or equipment discussed in relation toFIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, and 4-5 could be used to perform one or more of thesteps in FIGS. 6-15 .

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that methodsinvolved in the present invention may be embodied in a computer programproduct that includes a computer-usable and/or readable medium. Forexample, such a computer-usable medium may consist of a read-only memorydevice, such as a CD-ROM disk or conventional ROM device, or a randomaccess memory, such as a hard drive device or a computer diskette,having a computer-readable program code stored thereon. It should alsobe understood that methods, techniques, and processes involved in thepresent disclosure may be executed using processing circuitry. Theprocessing circuitry, for instance, may be a general purpose processor,a customized integrated circuit (e.g., an ASIC), or a field-programmablegate array (FPGA) within user equipment 400, media content source 516,or media guidance data source 518. For example, a profile, as describedherein, may be stored in, and retrieved from, storage 408 of FIG. 4 , ormedia guidance data source 518 of FIG. 5 . Furthermore, processingcircuitry, or a computer program, may update settings of user equipment100 stored within storage 408 of FIG. 4 or media guidance data source518 of FIG. 5 .

The processes discussed above are intended to be illustrative and notlimiting. One skilled in the art would appreciate that the steps of theprocesses discussed herein may be omitted, modified, combined, and/orrearranged, and any additional steps may be performed without departingfrom the scope of the invention. More generally, the above disclosure ismeant to be exemplary and not limiting. Only the claims that follow aremeant to set bounds as to what the present invention includes.Furthermore, it should be noted that the features and limitationsdescribed in any one embodiment may be applied to any other embodimentherein, and flowcharts or examples relating to one embodiment may becombined with any other embodiment in a suitable manner, done indifferent orders, or done in parallel. In addition, the systems andmethods described herein may be performed in real time. It should alsobe noted, the systems and/or methods described above may be applied to,or used in accordance with, other systems and/or methods.

While some portions of this disclosure may make reference to “relatedart” or “convention,” any such reference is merely for the purpose ofproviding context to the invention(s) of the instant disclosure, anddoes not form any admission as to what constitutes the state of the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for performing actions onnetwork-connected devices, the method comprising: receiving, via a userinput interface, an input from a first user device; identifying anaction based on the input, wherein the action is one of a plurality ofactions capable of being performed by one of a plurality of networkconnected devices; identifying an action criterion based on the input,wherein the action criterion corresponds to a condition for performingthe action on the one of a plurality of network connected devices, andwherein identifying the action criterion comprises: retrieving aplurality of criteria identifiers, based on the action, from the firstuser device; retrieving custom criteria identifiers to be used as theplurality of criteria identifiers, wherein the retrieved custom criteriaidentifiers are retrieved from an external source; and identifying theaction criterion from the retrieved custom criteria identifiers;determining, at the first user device, a target device, wherein thetarget device is one of the plurality of network connected devices thatis capable of performing the action; determining a command for executingthe action on the target device according to the action criterion,wherein determining the command comprises: identifying commandinformation corresponding to the target device for executing the actionon the target device according to the action criterion; and generatingthe command based on the command information; and transmitting thecommand from the first user device to the target device.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein identifying the action based on the input comprises:parsing words of the input to identify an action identifier; inputtingthe action identifier into a database listing actions corresponding toaction identifiers; filtering the database listing actions correspondingto action identifiers based on the action identifier to identify theaction; and outputting the action.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining the target device comprises: inputting the action into adatabase listing network-connected devices capable of performingactions; filtering the database listing network-connected devicescapable of performing actions based on the action to identify aplurality of network-connected devices capable of performing the action;outputting the plurality of network-connected devices capable ofperforming the action; and identifying the target device from theplurality of network-connected devices capable of performing the actionaccording to the action criterion.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining the target device comprises: inputting the action to adatabase listing device identifiers corresponding to network-connecteddevices; filtering the database listing device identifiers correspondingto network-connected devices based on a device identifier thatcorresponds to the action to identify the target device; and outputtingthe target device that corresponds to the device identifier.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein identifying the action criterion furthercomprises: inputting the action and the target device into a databaselisting criteria identifiers corresponding to specific actions onspecific network-connected devices; filtering the database listingcriteria identifiers corresponding to specific actions on specificnetwork-connected devices based on the action and the target device toidentify the plurality of criteria identifiers for performing the actionon the target device; outputting the plurality of criteria identifiersfor performing the action on the target device; and identifying actioncriterion from the plurality of criteria identifiers.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein identifying the action criterion further comprises:detecting connectivity of the target device to the first user device;retrieving action data from the target device, wherein the action datacomprises one or more actions associated with the target device;generating a plurality of criteria identifiers, wherein each of theplurality of criteria identifiers is associated with the action data;inputting the plurality of criteria identifiers, the action, and thetarget device into a database listing criteria identifiers correspondingto specific actions on specific network-connected devices; and filteringthe database listing criteria identifiers corresponding to specificactions on specific network-connected devices based on the plurality ofcriteria identifiers, the action, and the target device to identify theaction criterion.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein generating theplurality of criteria identifiers comprises: transmitting a request to aremote server for action data in association with the target device,wherein action data comprises one or more actions associated with thetarget device; and receiving the action data from the remote server inassociation with the target device.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinidentifying the action criterion based on the input further comprises:parsing words of the input to identify a criteria identifier; inputtingthe criteria identifier into a database listing criteria identifierscorresponding to action criteria; filtering the database listingcriteria identifiers corresponding to action criterion based on thecriteria identifier to identify the action criterion; and outputting theaction criterion.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining thecommand for executing the action on the target device according to theaction criterion, comprises: inputting the action, the action criterion,and the target device into a database listing command codescorresponding to specific actions on specific network-connected devices;filtering the database listing command codes corresponding to specificactions on specific network-connected devices based on the action andthe target device to identify a command code; outputting the commandcode; inputting the action criterion into a database listing commandsettings corresponding to performing specific actions according tospecific criteria on specific network-connected devices; filtering thedatabase listing command settings corresponding to performing specificactions according to specific criteria on specific network-connecteddevices based on the action criterion to identify a command setting forexecuting the action on the target device according to the actioncriterion; outputting the command setting; and generating the commandbased on the command code and the command setting.
 10. A system forperforming actions on network-connected objects in response to reminderson devices, comprising: user input circuitry; and control circuitryconfigured to: receive, via the user input circuitry, an input from afirst user device; identify an action based on the input, wherein theaction is one of a plurality of actions capable of being performed byone of a plurality of network connected devices; identify an actioncriterion based on the input, wherein the action criterion correspondsto a condition for performing the action on the one of a plurality ofnetwork connected devices, wherein the control circuitry is configuredto: retrieve a plurality of criteria identifiers, based on the action,from the first user device; retrieve custom criteria identifiers to beused as the plurality of criteria identifiers, wherein the retrievedcustom criteria identifiers are retrieved from an external source; andidentify the action criterion from the retrieved custom criteriaidentifiers; determine, at the first user device, a target device,wherein the target device is one of the plurality of network connecteddevices that is capable of performing the action; determine a commandfor executing the action on the target device according to the actioncriterion by: identifying command information corresponding to thetarget device for executing the action on the target device according tothe action criterion; and generating the command based on the commandinformation; and transmit the command from the first user device to thetarget device.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitryconfigured to identify the action based on the input is furtherconfigured to: parse words of the input to identify an actionidentifier; input the action identifier into a database listing actionscorresponding to action identifiers; filter the database listing actionscorresponding to action identifiers based on the action identifier toidentify the action; and output the action.
 12. The system of claim 10,wherein the control circuitry configured to determine the target deviceis further configured to: input the action into a database listingnetwork-connected devices capable of performing actions; filter thedatabase listing network-connected devices capable of performing actionsbased on the action to identify a plurality of network-connected devicescapable of performing the action; output the plurality ofnetwork-connected devices capable of performing the action; and identifythe target device from the plurality of network-connected devicescapable of performing the action according to the action criterion. 13.The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry configured todetermine the target device is further configured to: input the actionto a database listing device identifiers corresponding tonetwork-connected devices; filter the database listing deviceidentifiers corresponding to network-connected devices based on a deviceidentifier that corresponds to the action to identify the target device;and output the target device that corresponds to the device identifier.14. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry configured toidentify the action criterion is further configured to: input the actionand the target device into a database listing criteria identifierscorresponding to specific actions on specific network-connected devices;filter the database listing criteria identifiers corresponding tospecific actions on specific network-connected devices based on theaction and the target device to identify the plurality of criteriaidentifiers for performing the action on the target device; output theplurality of criteria identifiers for performing the action on thetarget device; and identify action criterion from the plurality ofcriteria identifiers.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlcircuitry configured to identify the action criterion is furtherconfigured to: detect connectivity of the target device to the firstuser device; retrieve action data from the target device, wherein theaction data comprises one or more actions associated with the targetdevice; generate a plurality of criteria identifiers, wherein each ofthe plurality of criteria identifiers is associated with the actiondata; input the plurality of criteria identifiers, the action, and thetarget device into a database listing criteria identifiers correspondingto specific actions on specific network-connected devices; and filterthe database listing criteria identifiers corresponding to specificactions on specific network-connected devices based on the plurality ofcriteria identifiers, the action, and the target device to identify theaction criterion.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the controlcircuitry configured to generate the plurality of criteria identifiersis further configured to: transmit a request to a remote server foraction data in association with the target device, wherein action datacomprises one or more actions associated with the target device; andreceive the action data from the remote server in association with thetarget device.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitryconfigured to identify the action criterion based on the input isfurther configured to: parse words of the input to identify a criteriaidentifier; input the criteria identifier into a database listingcriteria identifiers corresponding to action criteria; filter thedatabase listing criteria identifiers corresponding to action criterionbased on the criteria identifier to identify the action criterion; andoutput the action criterion.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein thecontrol circuitry configured to determine the command for executing theaction on the target device according to the action criterion is furtherconfigured to: input the action, the action criterion, and the targetdevice into a database listing command codes corresponding to specificactions on specific network-connected devices; filter the databaselisting command codes corresponding to specific actions on specificnetwork-connected devices based on the action and the target device toidentify a command code; output the command code; input the actioncriterion into a database listing command settings corresponding toperforming specific actions according to specific criteria on specificnetwork-connected devices; filter the database listing command settingscorresponding to performing specific actions according to specificcriteria on specific network-connected devices based on the actioncriterion to identify a command setting for executing the action on thetarget device according to the action criterion; output the commandsetting; and generate the command based on the command code and thecommand setting.